Co and Mn have very similar physicochemical behaviors, and thus it is very difficult to separate and recover Co and Mn. Methods of separating Co and Mn include precipitation methods in which only Mn is selectively precipitated using an oxidizing agent or Co is selectively precipitated using Na2S, and solvent extraction methods in which Mn is recovered using di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (DEHPA) or Co is recovered using Cyanex 301.
However, all the above-described recovery methods have problems in that the use of an expensive oxidant is required to separately recover Co and Mn and in that the use of Cyanex 301 that is a very expensive solvent is required.
Therefore, the present invention is intended to overcome the above-described problems resulting from the use of expensive oxidants and extractants in the processes for separating and purifying Co and Mn from recycled resources containing Co and Mn, and is also intended to produce high-purity products by simultaneously recovering Co as Co metal and Mn as electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD).